Hello! We're a married couple originally from Montana who love to travel and spend time outdoors. We both have Master's degrees (Ryan in Psychology, Jen in International Development), and we lived in Boston until about two years ago. We enjoyed our time in the city, but we never fell in love with our office jobs and always dreamed of finding a way to work for ourselves and have more freedom and flexibility to travel.

A few years ago, we left Boston to travel and work full-time as remote freelance writers and bloggers. We’ve been traveling throughout Southeast Asia for about fifteen months now, and have visited seven countries. We recently started housesitting while we travel, which has been an incredible way to meet new people, see offbeat places, spend time with furry friends, and live a more local lifestyle (and save money on accommodations, of course!). Jen’s also a yoga teacher and has taught yoga classes in some of the places we’ve visited. She writes about yoga, travel, and non-profit issues, and Ryan writes mainly on hiking, kayaking, and other outdoor recreation. If you're interested, you can read more on our blog at http://www.passionsandplaces.com.

We’re non-smokers, eco-conscious, and very tidy, and we treat our hosts’ property like it’s our own!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

There’s so much to see in the world, whether in Paris or Bali or our home state of Montana, but what really makes travel meaningful is the relationships. Sometimes it’s a greater cultural understanding that can only come from chatting with locals, or it might just be a friendship with a fellow traveler who helps you see a place with new eyes. Those interactions add so much richness to travel, and we’re always eager to meet new people.

We’ve used the sharing economy – including Airbnb, TrustedHousesitters, and WorkAway – quite a bit while traveling, and have always had great experiences with it.

Interests

We both try to spend as much time outdoors as possible, especially if it's hiking, kayaking, or biking. As a yoga teacher, Jen's also passionate about all things related to wellness and spirituality, as well as finding the best vegetarian food wherever we go. She enjoys any chance to practice her French or chat about the non-profit sector.

When it isn’t scorchingly hot out, Ryan loves going for long runs. It’s a great way to see new cities and is one of the cheapest workouts there is (take note, budget travelers!). He also loves scuba diving and just completed his advanced certification in Bali, and enjoys skiing whenever we’re in a cold climate. He’s a big fan of craft beer, too (juicy IPAs are his favorite), and has been documenting the beer scene in different countries in Southeast Asia. Little known fact: Cambodia has a pretty impressive one.

• dogs
• writing
• photography
• cooking
• wine
• fitness
• yoga
• running
• meditation
• blogging
• cycling
• hiking
• kayaking
• camping
• scuba diving
• skiing
• snowshoeing
• travel
• sustainability
• vegetarian food
• dance
• craft beer
• motorcycling
• travel blogging
• green living
• housesitting

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Jen bungee jumped in Zambia, and Ryan went paragliding in India (and we both lived to tell the tale!).

Teach, Learn, Share

Jen can give you a private or group yoga lesson, and Ryan can give you some photography pointers or even take photos of your family, home, or pets if you want. We also love cooking meals for our hosts, especially if it’s pizza, Thai, Indian, or health foods.

We're huge animal lovers and experienced pet-sitters, so we'd love to play with and help care for pets if you have them. If you’re interested in blogging, social media, writing, or freelancing/working remotely, we’re happy to share our tips. Oh, and if you’ve ever considered dropping everything and moving to Asia, we know all about that and can tell you the good, bad, and the ugly of it.

What I Can Share with Hosts

We're always happy to contribute to groceries, take our hosts out, and give them a hand however we can!

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, Germany, Guatemala, Guinea, Iceland, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Cambodia, France, India, Indonesia, Laos, Rwanda, Senegal, Thailand, Uganda, United States, Zambia